Snap election to go ahead : Phongthep

The government on Tuesday said the February 2 snap election will go ahead while the Election Commission said it disagreed but will do its best to organise the election.

Caretaker deputy premier Phongthep Thepkanjana said after the meeting that the EC and the government have different opinions and positions on whether the election should be delayed or not.

"The government saw that the postponement of the election would not solve the problems.Therefore the election would be held on February 2 as scheduled," he said.

Speaking at the same press conference, EC chief Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said the meeting was held at the recommendation of the Constitutional Court that the EC and the government talked on the possibility of delaying the election.

Somchai said there were differences on the opinions during the meeting so there was no joint decision on the matter.

He added the EC will then organise the election as much as possible and if there is any problem, it will try to solve them.

Because of technical problems caused by cancelled advance voting in many areas last Sunday, the opening of the House will be delayed at least three to four months. By laws, the first House meeting will be held 30 days after the election.

The meeting was attended by caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the full EC at the Army Club. Some Cabinet members participated in the meeting.